Icelandic Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir confirmed at last week's NATO summit that her country would launch an investigation into Iceland’s controversial whaling industry, following the killing of what is thought to be a protected blue whale.

EU commissioner for trade Cecilia Malmström demanded on Wednesday (18 April) a “permanent and unconditional” exemption from US President Donald Trump´s tariffs and said the UE would not negotiate anything "under threat”.

There are real concerns about the lowering of social and environmental standards in free trade agreements, and NGOs and economists point out the lack of binding control mechanisms in trade deals. EURACTIV.fr reports.

US President Donald Trump slapped steep trade tariffs on foreign steel and aluminium yesterday (8 March), drawing sharp protests from allies at home and abroad as the contentious move raised the spectre of a global trade war.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres, warning against the danger of “sleepwalking” into war, said today (14 December) that Security Council resolutions on North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs must be fully implemented by Pyongyang and other countries.

The European Parliament’s environment committee (ENVI) adopted on Thursday (7 September) a resolution condemning the Commission’s plans to relax controls on the radioactivity of Japanese food and feed imports following the 2011 Fukushima disaster.

The European Union could drop investment from major free trade deals in an effort to ease ratification, Commission Vice President Jyrki Katainen said on Monday (10 July) as Brussels is set to begin talks on the issue with Japan.

The European Commission is negotiating a free trade deal with Japan behind closed doors. Critics complain that Brussels has learned nothing from the controversy surrounding CETA and TTIP. EURACTIV Germany reports.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker is not worried about other EU countries following the United Kingdom out of the EU because Brexit will show them "it's not worth leaving". He also warned that a trade war is not in the interests of either Brussels or Washington.

The European Union should be able to conclude a free trade agreement with Japan this year after failing to hit an end-2016 deadline, a European Commission source close to the negotiations said on Monday (20 February).

President Donald Trump signed an executive order formally withdrawing the United States from the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal yesterday (23 January) as Europe sniffed a chance to pick up the free trade the US is turning its back on.

A European Parliament committee will look Thursday (12 January) at a draft resolution relating to the regulation of robotics. The text could become the basis for the first European legislation on automation and robots. EURACTIV Germany reports.